General Training Writing Task 1 · informal · apology

Letter to a friend cancelling our dinner plans

You had planned to meet a friend for dinner, but now you cannot go.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

cancel the meeting and apologize
explain why you cannot make it
suggest an alternative day or time to meet

Write at least 150 words. You do not need to write any addresses. Begin your letter: Dear [Name],

Band 8 sample letter

Dear Sarah,

I am so incredibly sorry, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it to dinner this Friday night. I was really looking forward to catching up, so I feel terrible about having to cancel on such short notice.

Unfortunately, my manager just informed me that I need to fly to our Manchester branch tomorrow for an urgent project audit. It’s completely unexpected, and I will be tied up in meetings from early morning until late evening for the next few days. I tried to see if I could postpone the trip, but given the deadlines involved, it is simply not possible for me to stay in town.

I feel awful about letting you down, but could we reschedule for sometime next week instead? I should be back by Wednesday evening, so perhaps we could grab a bite on Thursday or Friday night? Please let me know if either of those evenings works for you, and I promise to pick a restaurant that we have both been meaning to try.

So sorry again for the inconvenience.

Best wishes,

James

182 words. Names and details are invented; write your own.

Why this scores well

A Band 8 response addresses all three bullet points with natural, cohesive language and a consistently friendly, informal tone. A common Band 6 error is failing to provide a specific, plausible excuse or simply stating the cancellation without suggesting a concrete alternative, which leaves the task partially unfulfilled.

Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.
Contractions, phrasal verbs and a warm opening line are expected; a stiff formal tone loses marks here.
Still cover every bullet in its own paragraph; friendly does not mean unstructured.

Useful phrases from the letter

tied up: busy with something and unable to leave
on such short notice: with very little time before the event
catch up: talk to someone you have not seen lately
letting you down: failing to do something you promised someone
inconvenience: trouble or difficulty caused to someone else
postpone: arrange for an event to happen later

Write your own and get a band

Answer this prompt in a timed General Training writing test and get a band for task achievement, coherence, vocabulary and grammar, with the sentences to fix.

Practise IELTS General writing

On your phone? Get the BandLadder app.

Frequently asked questions

Is this letter formal or informal?

Informal. Write to a friend or relative by first name and close with Best wishes, Love or See you soon.

How long should an IELTS General Training letter be?

At least 150 words, and 160 to 200 is the comfortable range. Spend about 20 minutes on it and leave 40 for Task 2, which carries twice the marks.